ED conducts raids across multiple States in U.P. cough syrup case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday (December 12, 2025) raided multiple locations in various States as part of a money laundering investigation against an alleged illegal cough syrup trade racket in Uttar Pradesh, officials said.

The searches are covering 25 premises in Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaunpur and Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, as well as those located in Ranchi and Ahmedabad, they said.

The federal probe agency has booked a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to probe the alleged illegal trade.

Locations linked to absconding main accused Shubham Jaiswal and his alleged associates, Alok Singh, Amit Singh and others, cough-syrup manufacturers and a Chartered Accountant (CA) Vishnu Aggarwal are being raided, according to ED officials.

The ED action is based on about 30 U.P. Police FIRs registered after the State government took cognisance of incidents related to the misuse of codeine-based cough syrups (CBCS), their illegal manufacturing, trade and transport, including across the Bangladesh border.

The total proceeds of crime estimated in the case are about ₹1,000 crore, the ED officials said.

The main accused, Shubham Jaiswal, is understood to have fled to Dubai, while the U.P. Police have arrested his father. A total of 32 persons have been taken into custody by the State police till now, which has constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the case, the officials said.